Precinct Thirteen
by mary.crawley.9
Summary: Kate has been asked to become the new captain of the 13th precinct, but what she doesn't know is that her new job is nothing what she thought it would be. Set in the future. Has supernatural elements. I'm bad at summaries, but don't let that scare you.
1. Chapter 1

**Precinct Thirteen**

The light trickle of rain on the window keeps distracting him from the paperwork he's supposed to be completing. Of all the nights Madame Zathena is supposed to be visiting, he is piled with the paperwork of two double homicides and three cold cases. What is it with the full moon and murder; it's like these people have no respect for the humans that have to clean up their crazy messes. A knock at the door pulls him from his mental monologue.

"Come in," Captain Chambers says.

"Sir, you said that you wanted to see me before I left?" Detective Salazar says as he pokes his head through the cracked door.

"Ah yes, come in Detective Salazar. Have a seat," Chambers says gesturing towards an empty seat in front of his large desk.

"What's up Cap?"

"Well I know that this may come as a surprise to you, but I'm retiring soon and I would like to ask for your help with some things before I leave."

"Sure. Whatever you need, Sir I will be your man," Salazar says un-surprised at this announcement. He's known for a while that the captain was planning on retiring.

"Thank you Detective. If everything works out, there might even be a promotion in your future. Now for the time being, I need you to start compiling a list of things that will need to be discussed with the new captain about all of the particular situations that may occur in our special jurisdiction."

"You're not promoting from within?" Salazar asks surprised knowing the difficulty it is to keep even rookies in their precinct considering some of the things they see on a daily basis.

"No, not this time, I have a candidate in mind that has been vetted by Madame Zathena herself. Though she may not know this yet, her life is about to be changed drastically, and Zathena believes that she is necessary for the success of this precinct."

"Yes sir, who is this woman that Madame Zathena believes to be a wonderful candidate?" Salazar asks confused as to who this special woman could be that she gets to just come in and take over.

"Sergeant Beckett of the 12th precinct."

* * *

Kate padded up the stairs as she heard her husband's deep voice flowing from her son's bedroom. As she reached the door, she pauses to look upon the view before her.

"'Good night, Charlotte.' 'Good night, Wilbur.' 'Good night!' 'Good night!'" Castle reads as his son looks on with his blue eyes drooping with sleep.

"Good night, Tommy. Sweet dreams, bud" Castle says as he places a kiss on his son's forehead.

"Daddy, do you believe in witches?"

"Sure, bud. Why do you ask?"

"I dunno. Does mama believe in them?" At this question Kate makes her way to sit on the edge of her son's bed.

"I don't know, bud. Mama, do you believe in witches?"

"There are some things that can be explained and some things that can't, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist."

"But do you think they're real?"

"Maybe."

"What I think your mother is trying to say is that people can believe in whatever they want as long as it doesn't hurt others," Castle says looking at his wife and after receiving a nod they look back at their son.

"Oh. Well you'll see that they're real. It's okay if you don't think so now, we'll make you be a believer real soon."

"Alright then, I think it's time for you to get to sleep, so good night, Baby." Kate says as she tucks the covers around him snugly.

"I'm not a baby, mama. I'm a big boy." Tommy says looking up with his father's eyes that melt his mother's heart every day.

"You'll always be my baby"

"Not when you have my baby sister, then she'll be the baby, but it's okay I know that you both will still love me." Tommy says seriously as his parents look on in complete shock.

"Do you want a baby sister, bud?" Castle asks being the first one to actually find his voice.

"Well, yeah. I'm gonna be her protector and we're gonna help mama do great things." He says as if it's the only logical explanation. It's like his parents know nothing tonight.

"What kind of things are you going to help me with, baby?" Kate asks finally as the shock has somewhat lessened from her son's previous statement.

"We're gonna help you get the bad guys."

"How are you gonna do that?"

"I can't tell you yet, not till my sister gets here."

"Well I think that you need to sleep now, bud and we'll talk about this in the morning." Castle says as he stands to leave.

"Night, Baby." Kate says as she reaches to turn off the light. Kate turns and follows her husband out into the hallway. "What do you think he meant about having a baby sister?" Kate says after they make it down the stairs and as Castle leads them to the kitchen for a glass of wine.

"I don't think he meant anything, babe. He's five. He sees and hears about other kids in his class getting siblings so that's where his mind takes him."

"I know, it's just that the way he said it was like he knew, like he knew that in his future he was going to have a baby sister no matter what anybody told him otherwise."

"Kate, come on relax, drink some wine, and cuddle while we catch up on the non-animated shows that are saved onto our DVR." Castle says as he pulls Kate towards the couch in front of the TV, two wine glasses in the other hand and a bottle of her favorite red under his arm.

"Castle"

"Ooh, we missed that one show with the-"

"Rick stop."

"What? I thought you liked that show."

"I do babe, but what if I don't want to do all of those things."

"I'm confused."

"Maybe I don't want to drink a glass of wine and cuddle on the couch. Maybe, I want to go into our bedroom and celebrate." Kate says with a classic Castle eyebrow wiggle as she leads Rick through his office and into their bedroom.

"Not that celebrating doesn't sound amazing right now, but, uhmm, what exactly are we celebrating?"

"This," Kate says as she reaches into the bedside table and pulls out a small photo that she hid there while Castle was reading to Tommy.

"Is this what I think it is? Are you – are we- "

"Yes, Castle. I'm pregnant. I went to the doctor today and she confirmed it. I'm 10 weeks."

"But how did I not know? I knew before you did with Tommy." Castle says a little hurt that he was just now finding out about their baby.

"Hey, be happy. We've both been swamped with cases and your edits for weeks now. I just happened to get a break in my work to realize that I was 2 months late."

"I'm definitely happy. Is this why you're so worked up over Tommy's little sister comment?"

"Yea. Kinda. How could he know I was pregnant?"

"He doesn't know that Kate. He was tired and I'm pretty sure that there's a kid in his class whose mom is pregnant too. So stop worrying so much about our baby up stairs, and start helping me celebrate our new baby down here."

As the celebrating commenced between the happy couple, a soft chuckle was expelled outside on the sidewalk below. Madame Zathena knew what the couple was in for, but she would only reveal the secrets necessary to aid in the proper raising of her great grandchildren.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you to all my new followers. This is my second attempt at writing fanfiction, hopefully it goes better than the first. I wrote half of this a little tipsy and exhausted from working all day due to people quitting unexpectedly thanks to finals and the approach of summer break. So all the mistakes are mine.**

**This chapter is definitely fluffy. I'm sorry but I couldn't get this out of my head until I actually wrote it down. so you have been warned. I know that this is going to have definite supernatural elements, but seeing as this is my first attempt at the supernatural world tell me if something doesn't seem right. They may not be present in all chapters, but I'm working my way towards it. And by all means tell me if you love it or hate it. I grew up off of constructive criticism and after being bullied for years mean things don't phase me. So go crazy. **

* * *

"Stephen." Madame Zathena calls as she strolls into Captain Chambers' office seemingly out of nowhere. Zathena's appearance may seem aesthetically appealing to the rest of the world, but when you find out that she is actually 129 years old you start to appreciate her beauty even more. Although she looks no older than 60, her smart business woman attire can easily allow her to pass for early 50s. It's actually one of the reasons Stephen likes to keep her around him so often, she makes people assume that he may actually be in a relationship instead of the habitual single life that he actually lives in.

"I hate it when you do that. It scares the shit out of me every single time." Chambers says as he falls back into his chair.

"Well your retirement is near so you won't have to be frightened many more times. Maybe only a few, I do enjoy your reactions." Zathena said with a slight smile.

"Ha ha. Make fun of the human. Thanks Zee." Stephen says sarcastically. "So what do I owe the pleasure of your abrupt company to?"

"Well as you know, I have personally decided that your replacement by Sergeant Beckett must occur very soon. So I would like for you to place that call to Captain Gates tonight."

"Why tonight? I just spoke to Salazar today. Don't you think that this is moving kinda fast? I mean why are we rushing this I thought you had another year before your ending?" Stephen says, a little saddened by thought of his best friend finally leaving him. He had grown accustomed to Zee's wit and cheerful outlook while dealing with the gruesome elements of what his job entailed. Knowing Zee his whole life, he fell in love with her time and time again. From her being a mother figure in his childhood to being his best friend when the job scared women away as an adult, Madame Zathena would truly be missed by Stephen Chambers.

"Well, the birth of my successor has finally come in to play."

"So Beckett's pregnant?"

"Yes. And our new savior will be born any month now, but due to the abnormal gestation periods of my kind, I must become a part of their life very soon."

"I'll make that call to Captain Gates right away. When would you like to meet with her?"

"Within the next day or two would be greatly appreciated, but no longer than a week from now. If the child's growth rate becomes acknowledged by human doctors, the child's life could be at stake."

* * *

A ringing phone pulled Kate from her sleep. When she glanced at the clock, seeing that it was only nine o'clock, she realized that they must've fallen asleep after their second round of celebrating. She finally found her phone when castle grumbled something about her not being on call tonight and saw that it was Captain Gates.

"Beckett. Yes sir. Yes sir. I'll be there. Yes sir. Good night."

"What she want?" Castle asked after she hung up.

"I have to go in for an early meeting tomorrow morning. So that means that you have to take Tommy to school."

"Ugh. He likes to go in early though and play on the playground. Can't we just sleep in and stay at home to play all day?" Castle whined.

"Rick he has to go to school. He can't just stay home because you want to sleep in."

"What? That's not why. I just-"

"Babe."

"Okay. Fine. But why did our son have to be a morning person? Alexis loved to sleep when she was his age. I swear it's the only thing about her that she got from me."

"Well let's just go to sleep so you can get enough beauty rest."

"Well now I'm awake and I don't think that we've celebrated enough."

After another round the couple finally slept until Kate's alarm woke her the next morning.

* * *

Kate stepped out of their bedroom a little past 6 to find her son sitting on the couch reading a comic book by a lamp. As she walked past him she carded her fingers through his hair to gain his attention.

"Yes, Mama?" Tommy asks as he places his comic book on the coffee table and follows her into the kitchen.

"What do you want for breakfast baby?" Kate asks realizing that her son has now followed her all the way into the kitchen. Like father like son, her Castle boys are drawn to her.

"Uhmm can I have cereal? The rainbow one?" Tommy asks pointing to the sugary cereal at the top of the pantry. Of course he decides to pick his father's cereal while he's still asleep.

"Sure Baby." Kate says as she grabs the cereal and starts to pour him some in his favorite Avengers bowl. After placing the bowl in front of her son, she returns to fixing herself some granola and tea as she watches her son eat his cereal and read his comic book. She loves peaceful mornings like this. Although with the new baby coming, it would be a few years before these days would occur again. Once her granola was finished, she placed a kiss to her son's head and told him to make sure that his father woke up to take him to school. After the distracted nod, she moved to her husband in an attempt to wake him up. With a couple grunts and a simple "luv ya" she left the loft to head into her early meeting with Captain Gates.

* * *

Once Mama left Tommy knew that he had to get dressed for school. He liked it when Mama took him to school. He usually got to go in early and play on the playground when she took him, but when Daddy takes him he's lucky to get there on time. After he gets dressed, he goes to his parent's room to wake his dad.

"Daddy."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Daddyyy."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Daddyyyyyy. It's time to wake up. You gotta drive me to school."

"S'early, bud. Go away. Five more minutes."

"But dad if we don't leave now I'm gonna be late."

"Fine. I'm up. Why do you have to go to school anyways? Why can't we just stay here and play all day?"

"Because it's library day and I wanna get a new book."

"Alright, you know how to get a man to listen."

"Oh yeah, Mama called your phone a lot."

Shit. He knew he should've set an alarm.

"Did you answer it?"

"No, 'cause Mama yells when you sleep in."

"Good Boy." Castle says as he passes his son and pats his head. _Oops. _His son is not a dog. Keep walking maybe he won't say anything about it. Castle finally finds his phone and just as he picks it up Kate is already calling him.

"Hey babe. What's up?"

"Castle are you just now waking up?" Kate asks a little frustrated.

"What? No! I've been awake since you left." Castle says as his son yells in the background "Don't lie Daddy!"

"Castle I can hear Tommy. Just get him to school and then bring me some breakfast. The granola I ate did not tide me over like I thought it would."

"Yes, dear. Is there anything particular that you want?"

"Mmm. Some cronuts? I've been craving them all week."

"Sure thing. Should I get some for the boys, so they don't get suspicious?"

"You're so smart. I knew I married you for something. So just hurry and bring me food. I Love you, but don't make our son be late."

"Love you too. See later." Castle says as he hangs up and steps into the shower.

Five minutes later he gets out and hurries to get dressed. He loves Kate, but he knew that if you're late with her food while she's pregnant there was no way the rest of the day would be pleasant. After he finally exits his bedroom, he sees his son sitting by the door with all of his school stuff ready and reading a comic book. It's kind of saddening to see his son growing up so quickly. Even though he's been able to read for a while now, he's at least nice enough to let his dear old dad read him a bedtime story. He can't even think of the moment when his son gets "too old" for that. At least with the new baby, he'll get to have a few more years with a little kid before they grow up and start to be more independent.

"Alright bud, let's get you to school." Castle says as he grabs his keys and helps his son to his feet.

"Yes! You got ready real quick daddy!" Tommy says as he puts his comic book in his backpack and follows his dad out of the loft. "Can we take the red car daddy?"

"Red car? The Ferrari? When have you ever been in the Ferrari?" Castle asks as they step onto the elevator and presses the button for the parking garage.

"Mama took me to a racetrack and we drove REALLY fast. She says we should drive it more often because its gots horses and horses need to run."

"Your mom took you in the Ferrari to a race track? When?"

"Uhm last weekend when you were writing. She said that she had cabinet fever and needed to move. Daddy what's cabinet fever? Is Mama sick?" Tommy asks as they step of the elevator and Castle leads them to the Mercedes.

"It's _cabin _fever, and it means that she got bored from sitting inside all day long. It's not a real sickness."

"Oh. Well I get cabin fever at school when it's raining and they don't let us have recess outside."

"I bet. Well we can't drive the Ferrari today, because your seats already in this car and we don't have time to change it over." Castle says as he buckles his son into his seat and then heads to the driver's seat.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I'm sorry that this wasn't posted sooner. I'm trying to keep an every other day update schedule, but my managers have decided that since everyone is quitting, due to the end of the school year that they can just schedule everyone that is staying to work an obscene amount of hours. Luckily we are hiring more people this week, and since I'm not one of the girls whining about the extra hours to my managers, I'm going to actually be able to get the entire week that I've been asking off for in May to go to Dallas Comic Con. Sorry for the rant.**

**Now this chapter is my longest yet, and I still feel like it was a little bit on the filler side. **

**Thanks to all the reviews that I've gotten and to all the follows and favorites. It really means a lot to me that y'all actually want to read this. (yes I'm from the south and I say "y'all" even when I right. DEAL WITH IT!)**

**I hope you like this chapter.**

* * *

Meanwhile across town outside the 12th Precinct, Madame Zathena and Captain Chambers climbed out of a town car and walked into the building with a purpose. The faster they got Beckett on their team, the faster they could protect The Savior. Madame Zathena only knew about the birth of her own daughter, but the pregnancy of a non-magical human giving birth to a child with her particular gifts can come as a complete shock to the mother. Without her help, not only Beckett, but the baby itself could be in danger.

When the couple finally reached the bullpen of the Homicide department, only a few detectives and officers were around at the early hour to see their arrival. Once Captain Gates discovered their entrance she immediately ushered them into her office.

"This must be the wonderful Madame Zathena you have been telling me about Stephen." Gates says as she shook hands with the woman in front of her.

"You can call me Zee, only the people that work for either Stephen or myself call me that." Zathena says as she takes her seat next to Captain Chambers.

"Ah, yes. I've heard some about your work at the 13th, but I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around some of the things that occur in your jurisdiction."

"That's quite alright. We still have some issues keeping rookies before they can truly stomach some of the things we may see."

"I bet. It took me a few months of our cases overlapping before I truly believed Stephen. Well I doubt just this introduction was the purpose for this meeting. I remember you mentioning last night the necessity of Sergeant Beckett. Does this have something to do with your retirement Captain?" Gates says attempting to get this meeting started before the entirety of her department has arrived.

"Yes, in fact it entirely has to do with my upcoming retirement. As you know, the circumstances that occur within our jurisdiction are that of a rarer variety. We believe that Beckett has what it takes to be able to handle those kinds of situations. There are other aspects in which we have decided to pick her over other candidates, but we would like to speak of those with her privately, and allow her to make that decision on whether or not to tell those around her. It is nothing harmful to her or others, it's just a topic that can take time to fully comprehend." Captain Chambers recites. He'd been practicing the speech all morning. Even though he's met Captain Gates before, the presence of a strong willed woman still made him nervous. Luckily his time spent with Zee has allowed him to overcome some of his downfalls with the other gender. Once Captain Chambers finished speaking, Gates went to call Beckett in.

Kate was pulled from a daydream about delicious cronuts when she heard Captain Gates calling her name. After bringing herself back to the present, she followed Gates into her office. Once inside, she stopped in her tracks. The stranger in front of her surprised her. The arrival of Chambers and his guest occurred while she was in the break room, so she never got a clear look at the woman. Now standing directly in front of her, she could finally get a good look at her. There was just something about the woman that she couldn't quite understand. Being on the police force for almost 20 years and married to Castle for over 5, Kate Beckett knew how to read people, but when it came to her, she was at a loss for words. It started with her appearance. Her clothes and lack of accent said money, but her friendship with Captain Chambers threw her for a loop. Then her eyes were an entirely different story. Those were the eyes that have haunted her dreams since that cold night in '99. Although her own eyes were those of her mother's she was always told that they began in their genetic code with Johanna, but seeing this woman changed that image entirely. Hearing her name being called she realized that the woman in front of her was trying to ask her a question.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Kate asks as she shakes herself together.

"Yes, we were wondering if you have ever met Madame Zathena." Gates asks her confused about why her best officer would freeze.

"No, I don't believe we've met before. Sergeant Kate Beckett. Nice to meet you Madame Zathena." Kate says, offering her hand to Zathena

"Call me Zee, after this meeting is over I promise we will know each other in a more personal nature."

"Alright." Beckett says as she starts to take the seat that is being offered to her on the couch next to captain Gates. "I know you said last night that I wasn't in trouble for anything, but for some reason it feels as if I'm being called into the Principal's office."

"No, Kate, the Principal's office is for your son, our presence is for a much more inviting purpose." Madame Zathena reassures a confused looking Kate.

"We're here because of my recent decision to retire, and we would like for you to take over my position at the 13th Precinct." Captain Chambers adds hoping to cover up Zee's flub over speaking about her knowledge of Kate's family.

"So you want me to become the Captain of the 13th Precinct? Wait did you say something about my son?" Beckett asked unaware of Chamber's efforts to distract her from that tidbit of information.

"Yes, to both. We believe that it is in yours and your family's best interest to take this job; especially with a new addition on the way." Zee says before receiving a scolding look from the man sitting next to her.

"Wait how do you know all this stuff about me? Have you been stalking me? If that's the kind of things that you allow in your Precinct then I don't think I want to work there." Beckett says appalled at the thought of her personal life being intruded upon for a job.

"Now this may come as a shock to you, but I have known everything about you your entire life. I even knew all about your mother. There are some things that may seem strange at first but I assure you that I have always had your wellbeing in the foreground of all of my actions." Zathena says hopefully calm enough as to not scare away the woman in front of her.

"So you're telling me, that when you were what, 20, you started to follow not only me, but my mother around as well? That doesn't make any sense. How would you even know that our paths would cross in the future?" Kate was starting to become really skeptical about the whole situation. It was starting to all feel like a dream to her. She couldn't believe that this woman she had never met before knows not only about her family but also about the child growing inside of her.

"Not entirely. I didn't necessarily want to talk about this immediately after meeting you, but it seems that it has come to that. How would you like to join me in the break room for a tea, and we can chat about who I am in relation to you." Zathena says as she grabs for Kate's hand in an effort to comfort her.

After a moment of contemplation, Kate stands and drops the hand of the woman before her, and then walks slowly towards the break room, almost trance-like. Luckily the rest of her coworkers had not all arrived yet, so her somber attitude goes unnoticed by the tired officers around her. When she reaches the break room she doesn't turn around to see if Zee had followed her, the shutting of the door and blinds give her enough information about who she was followed by. She sat down on the old couch in the corner. It had been a place of comfort and rest for her throughout the years. From pulling an all-nighter on a tough case to just needing a nap while pregnant with Tommy, this couch had always been here for her. Even now when her future could change entirely, it's the couch that she relies on to help her through this upcoming conversation.

A cup of tea appearing in front of her dragged her focus away from the string she'd been distractedly playing with. When she looks up, she sees Zee setting down her own cup and then sitting down next to her on the couch.

"Katherine, what do you know about your maternal grandmother?" Zee asks not wanting to waste a minute on giving Kate the truth she deserves to know.

"Uhmm. Not much, I guess. She died when I was a baby. I just remember some of the stories my mom would tell me about Grandma Helen. She said that they didn't really get along. My mom always told me that she was a daddy's girl."

"Yes, Franklin loved your mother very much. She was a lot like him, you are too. There's not a day that I don't miss both of them greatly." Zee says reminiscing about a time when they were both alive.

"I'm still confused about how you know who they were."

"Ah, yes. Well you see, Franklin and I met a very long time ago-"

"But you're so young. How is that even possible?" Kate asks, confused again.

"Now Katherine I will get to that eventually if you quit interrupting." Zathena says a little frustrated at how long this process is taking. After a quick nod from Kate, she continues. "Thank you. Now your grandfather and I loved each other very much, but when I became pregnant with your mother, I knew that I couldn't stay in her life. At the time there was another woman that loved your grandfather as well; she agreed to raise Johanna as her own if I was never to interfere in their life again. Franklin disagreed to it from the beginning, but I knew that I could never be the mother she deserved. Eventually I had to wipe Franklin's memory of our relationship after Jo was born, but Helen always knew the truth. When your mother was born with my eyes, I knew that she carried my powers within her DNA. It was always difficult for Helen to see my eyes every day, and know that Franklin loved Jo over herself because of them." Zathena finally pauses and looks at Kate expectantly. She knows that the woman is bound to have questions. She's not let down after a couple seconds when Kate finally speaks up.

"So you're my _real_ grandmother?" Kate asks and after a nod, she continues. "And my mom never knew you?"

"No. She couldn't." Zee says solemnly.

"And you have _powers_? Like what kind of powers? Like just mind reading? Because Castle's mother says she can read minds, but it's just an old carnival trick." Kate asks a little skeptically.

"I can do a lot more than just read minds." Zee says with a chuckle. She then motions with her hand toward the mugs in front of her and watches as they rise slightly and then settle back onto the table gently.

"Okay, so you can levitate things. That's kind of cool. I guess." Kate says not wanting to reveal how truly amazed she was. She had always loved magic tricks when she was a kid, but as she got older she started to learn that it was all smoke and mirrors. "I still don't understand how that has to do with the 13th Precinct or myself for that matter. I definitely can't move things with my mind."

"The 13th Precinct has a special jurisdiction that actually expands over the entire range of New York City. The only difference it has compared to the other precincts is that the cases we take on are that of the supernatural nature. And for how this pertains to you, is that your daughter will be the saving grace that this city needs."

* * *

**I know that this is kind of a rough ending, but it was the only place I could stop for now. Please tell me what you like and don't like. This story and your responses are what get me through the day.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Two days in a row! yay me! I kinda hate this chapter, but I got it done. **

**As always thanks for the reviews, and keep them coming.**

* * *

Castle walked into the precinct a little later than he wanted. There was a wreck on the trip back from SoHo, and he was nervous that hungry Beckett was going to rip his head off. When he finally stepped off of the elevator, he looked towards his wife's desk and found it to be empty of her presence, so he made his way towards the break room to see if she was making herself some decaf. It took her a couple weeks to wean herself off coffee last pregnancy. Luckily she'd grown to like tea even after Thomas was born, and sometimes drank that instead of feeding her coffee addiction. Before he reached the break room though, he was stopped by Esposito with a whistle and wave towards the detective's desk.

"Yo Castle, whatcha do to our girl in there? She's been sitting on the couch for the past half hour. Some lady was in there talking to her, but once she left Beckett stayed."

"Huh. I knew Kate had a meeting with Gates this morning. She called me right before to make sure that I was awake to take Tommy to school. She seemed fine then." Castle asked looking towards where his wife sat in the almost empty break room.

"You sure you didn't do anything? Those look like Cronuts. Which we both know is something you only buy Beckett if she's either mad at you or pregnant. So which one is it?" Ryan asks chiming in on the grilling of Castle. It was always fun to watch the man squirm.

"Maybe I just love my wife enough to surprise her. Unlike the two of you, I know how to treat my wife. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be a real man and find out why she's upset, instead of hiding out here like the two of you." Castle says trying not to give away anything about Beckett. He knew his distraction worked when he heard the boys mumbling about it definitely being about an apology. _Heh. And they call themselves detectives._

He knocked softly on the door to the break room, but got no response from the woman inside. He walked slowly inside and tried to figure out what was distracting his wife so much. He didn't think it could be the baby. They'd only known for a day, and she usually didn't get pregnancy brain until at least 6 months in. He placed the Cronuts on the table in front of her and sat down next to her, hopefully jostling her enough to make her realize his presence. She doesn't say anything but almost immediately reaches for the box of pastries. At least her stomach has some control of her body still. After a few bites she looks up at him, and it breaks his heart into a million pieces. Her eyes are filled with tears and she looks so lost and alone that he can't help it when his body launches forward and scoops her up in his arms to pull her as close as possible to himself. He doesn't even know what he's saying but he hopes that everything he's whispering into her ears will help her get through whatever it is that has made her break down like this. After a while she finally stops crying and pulls back to look at him, and he can't stop himself from kissing her forehead and wipe away her tears. He knows that she hates PDA in the office, but he'd rather get hell for it later, if it meant that she could feel better now. When she finally talks Castle can barely hear her tiny little whispers.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you?"

"My life has been a lie." Kate says barely audible, but he was listening for it this time.

"Why do you say that, Kate? How is your life a lie?" Castle asks. He knows better than to contradict her, but just keep her thought processes flowing out loud so he can follow her enough to hopefully fix whatever is wrong.

"Because she was never my real grandmother. My grandmother is a witch, and now our children are in danger because of it. I knew that my job was dangerous, but I never thought that just having a family could be dangerous."

"What are you talking about Kate? Which grandmother? I thought your grandmother died when you were like 15." He didn't even want to breach the "witch" comment just yet.

"My mom's mom. Grandma Helen died when I was a baby, but apparently she was just my mom's adoptive mother. That's why their eyes didn't match. That's why I get my eyes from a witch. What happens when our baby is born and she has my eyes? What then, Rick? Are we just supposed to raise a witch? I don't know how to raise a witch." Kate says as she blubbers out the last sentence when a new round of tears comes to the surface.

Castle waited out her crying before he spoke up again.

"What are you saying Kate? I'm a little lost here."

Kate finally pulled herself together enough to tell Castle everything that she was told less than an hour before. From the job over at the 13th Precinct to what her bloodline consisted of, Beckett couldn't have sounded more like a crazy person.

"So can you like levitate stuff?" Castle asks, knowing no other way to break a silence than humor. After a playful slap and a huffed laugh, he knew that he did his job for now.

"Castle, was there anything you heard other than that my grandma is a witch?"

"Yes, I heard something about the possibility of our child to have magical powers."

"Castle"

"What do you want me to say Kate? Congrats you found your long lost grandma and now you get to work with her? Oh or would you like me to say that you've finally lost your shit, and that even I couldn't come up with a story like that?"

"I don't know, babe. I just can't help but think that you're going to hate me when we find out that our baby is magical and it's my entire fault."

"Kate. I could never hate you. You could give birth to a werewolf baby, and I would still love you. I mean you've already given me Tommy, and he's perfect."

"Actually about Tommy, Zathena said that we may start to notice some things about him too."

"What? He's magical, too?"

"She didn't necessarily say _magical_ she said that he could have potential gifts. She said that she won't know for sure until she meets him in person."

"Okay, so we are potentially going to have two magical children, and this Zathena woman has known about not only you but our entire family for years now."

"Yea, she wants to come over for dinner sometime this week too. She said that we need to speak about certain aspects of my pregnancy. Apparently magical pregnancies vary greatly from that of non-magical ones."

"So we're going to invite a witch into our home and let her inspect our son to see if he has any gifts. Cool."

"It's not like I have a choice Rick, she said that the baby could be in danger if we don't know what to expect."

"Alright, so when is she going to come over?"

"She said the sooner the better, and Gates gave me the rest of the day off to think about the job offer. So how about tonight? I know that Alexis wanted to come over and spend time with Tommy anyways, so she'll already be there too."

"You want to include Alexis?"

"Of course, she's my family and Zee said that she wants to talk to all of us to help prepare us for the next few months."

"I love you." Castle says as he kisses his wife's forehead. He loves it when she includes his first born.

"I love you, too. Now give me another Cronut, and then go give the rest to the boys so we can go home. I think I want to pick up Tommy from school today, I missed our cuddles this morning."

* * *

When recess began, Tommy couldn't run fast enough. He loved the swings so much, but if he didn't get there first, then he would never get a chance. When he saw the empty swings, he knew that he had a shot. He finally got to the seat and climbed on. He always tried to go as high as he could. It was never the same as when mama or daddy would push him, but he still loved the wind in his hair. After a couple minutes of kicking his legs back and forth, he actually started to get some height. He loved to swing with his eyes closed so he never saw that mean Johnson boy start to walk towards him. A quick jerk of his swing sent him flying to the ground face first. He wanted to cry, but when he looked up and saw Brent Johnson looming over him, he knew that he couldn't.

"Hey! I was using that." Tommy yelled hopefully loud enough to draw a crowd. He knew that if the teachers discovered them on their own then he wouldn't be called a snitch.

"Yea, well I want to swing now." Brent said sending spit all over Tommy. No one ever makes fun of the kid with the lisp if he can beat you to a pulp.

"Well wait your turn or ask nicely" Tommy says standing up slowly because his wrist hurt a little. Just as he was about to be fully standing, he was pushed back down to the ground. He cried out a little at the pain that shot through his wrist but willed away the tears that were threatening to fall.

"That doesn't work for me because I ain't got patient."

"You don't have patience." Tommy corrected. He couldn't help it, his Dad's a writer.

"Listen twerp. This swing is mine, and it's always going to be mine. Got it?"

"You can't just own a swing. It's everyone's to share. And if you claim it, then that's like stealing, and my mom is a cop, she could arrest you." Tommy says as he finally gets to his feet and backs away enough to where he's out of Brent's reach.

"You know what you little punk-" Brent started to say when a teacher interrupted him.

"Thomas. Thomas Castle. Your Parents are here to pick you up."

_Yes. Saved by the bell. _Tommy ran to where the teachers were and followed one of them inside to his classroom. Once he got his stuff all packed up he turned around to see his parents standing at the door. He ran to them and jumped up into his mama's open arms.

"Mama. What are you doing here? I thought that you had work."

"I got off work early, so I thought that I should take my baby boy to get some ice cream."

"Oh mama you're so smart. I love ice cream, but I love you more." Tommy says as he hugs here tighter while they walk out of the school.

"What about me? I'm your dad, does that mean anything?"

"Yea, you gotta pay for the ice cream, duh."

"What?" Castle says as he pokes his son's side making him squirm into his mother.

"Just kidding, daddy. I love you just as much as mama." Tommy says a little breathless from his father's tortures.

"I'll take what I can get. Now let's get some ice cream." Castle says as he opens the car door for his wife to place their son in his seat.

* * *

"How's your ice cream, baby?" Kate asks as she pushes some hair off of her son's forehead.

"So good, mama, thanks for taking me outta school."

"No problem, baby, but we took you out of school because there's something we need to tell you." Kate says a little worried. The last time they had to "you're getting a baby sibling talk" it was to Alexis and she definitely wasn't 5.

"It's okay mama, you don't have to worry. I already know about the baby in your tummy. She's gonna be here soon though, and she thinks that you're not ready. You really need to talk to Grammy Zee though, she knows what to do."

* * *

**AN: I know that some of it may seem OOC, but this is AU, so deal. JK. Kate is pregnant and has crazy hormones (my only logical explanation).**


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